Born and raised in the portion of the town located in Oglethorpe County, Thornton - who taught for 33 years at Oglethorpe County High School - said he's always enjoyed small-town living.

"I really like the rural area and small towns," Thornton said. "When I graduated from college and came back home, I found the commute from Carlton to Lexington to be a good one, so I never considered relocating."

Earning a degree in social studies with an emphasis on sociology, Thornton began his teaching career in 1963 at what then was Oglethorpe County Consolidated High School. He taught for nearly a decade before the area's public school system was integrated, and he remembered the lack of local controversy that followed desegregation.

"The 1970-71 school year was the year of integration," Thornton said. "It went pretty smoothly. People had seen what had happened when schools were integrated in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi, and they didn't want that here. They thought, 'The nine old men (Supreme Court) made it so, and it's coming whether we want it or not.' And they made the best of it, although in those days they didn't even want you to talk about it."

Thornton added that before integration, schools in the county were separate but not equal, and he was pleased with desegregation.

"Most aspects of integration I welcomed," he said. "There were some things that were lost in the shuffle, but for the most part the things that black students and teachers were missing were now at their disposal."

A few years before Thornton - who also taught American history - retired, he arranged to purchase a 1967 Chevrolet Impala that was located in Lincoln, Neb. Unable to have the car delivered to Carlton, Thornton drove with family members to Detroit, rented a car there and then traveled 900 miles to Nebraska to collect his car before heading home.

Although he'd always had an interest in cars - especially Chevrolets - it was that trip that led Thornton to pursue the purchase and sales of classic Chevrolet car parts.

"I've always liked cars," Thornton, who still owns that 1967 Impala, said. "When I restored my Impala, I wound up with some spare parts and picked up more here and there, and started to advertise in Hemmings Motor News. I enjoyed it and stayed with it for a while, but now it's more like a hobby."

Thornton's life changed in more ways than one when he retired, as the lifelong bachelor got married in 1997. His wife, Claudia, has two children and six grandchildren. Thornton added that Claudia appeared on "The Price is Right" in 2004 and won a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado.

"That was like God's gift to us," Thornton chuckled. "We like Chevys."

Now retired for nearly 15 years, Thornton still utilizes his teaching skills, volunteering as a tutor for students in Elbert County.

"I have a relative who owns a building in Elberton where they tutor kids who have trouble with reading and math," he said. "I'm not much help with them in math, but I help the students with their reading and with their preparation for their (Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests). I've been doing that for five or six years now. I've done my best to help them."